I don’t scare easily, until…

I’m not too bad with creepy crawlies or snakes or serial killers (I’ve never come up against a serial killer, but if I do I’ll let you know – hopefully). I’m kind of a casual person and am rarely ruffled (unless, of course, I’m on a road trip in monsoon storms with a dog who has diarrhea).

On Monday I took the day off working at the RUC. I needed to get the place where I’m currently staying into ship shape. You know, the boring things like washing and folding and vacuuming and washing floors and on and on ad nauseam…

In January I wrote about these two cute geckos who decided to put on a bit of a luv fest above my head (so I did the only sensible thing and took a photo of them).

So I’m cleaning away on Monday and on the clothes dryer outside I find (what I think is) a tablet about the size of a tic tac. Hmm, interesting. How did that get there? I picked it up to take a good look at it and gave it a bit of a squeeze (as you do when you find a random tic tac on the clothes dryer).

It looked like this picture below (but it wasn’t on a spoon – go figure).

Before I knew it the thing burst open and a tiny gecko jumped out and attached itself to my nose. For a second I thought it was going to ask “Are you my mother?” – but before it had the chance I screamed and it jumped onto the table.

Here is a picture of the cute little fella with some of the shell still on his back.

I chased him around for a while from the table to the floor until I got all the shell off. To give an indication of his tiny size, that blurry thing near him is a house fly that was in the process of taking off (hence the blur).

He’s now living happily ever after with his Kama Sutra parents in a quiet little nook outside the kitchen window. I saw his father looking very pensive last night – proud that his little offspring survived.

Here’s dad, on the outside ceiling behind the light checking out his enormous shadow

I may have shattered the image of my brevity getting all weirded out when the little fella jumped on my nose, but I’m sure I did the right thing in the end…

Unbelivable, Dianne! (and unbelievably cool!) Every new animal story you post more and more makes that new house sound like some kind of crazy menagerie. 🙂 That little guy is so cute, and it’s cool that his parents are still around.

LOL!!!!!! That was hilarious, Dianne! I would have completely freaked out if that happened to me. I applaud your efforts to remove the rest of the shell. I would have fled the scene, screaming like a baby! I love the shadow photo…too funny! 🙂

I think this has to be one of my favourite posts in the history of the world, ever. I’ve been reading blogs since 2005; this one cracked me up. Squeezing a tic tac? A tiny gecko jumps on your nose? And you get photos? I am mightily impressed. I’m not squeamish and am pretty rock solid when it comes to many things but I would have jumped and probably cried in shock. Good on you! And thanks for the pre-breakfast laugh!

Dianne, Dianne, the life you live! You don’t need to write fascinating fiction stories, your life is one! Wow, I would have definitely screamed, jumped and then probably gone over and made sure the little guy was okay. This is an excellent story with great photos, thanks for sharing! You’re amazing … on your nose … omg …

Diane – Thanks for the LOL. I still don’t know how you live with all the “wild life,” because the scariest thing in Wisconsin in probably something that buzzes. I think a gecko on my house, be it a baby gecko–would scare the s**t out of me!

Oh, this is wonderful! A baby gecko is born into the world. You should hold a competition to name it. 🙂 I would have jumped, especially if it had looked like a Tic Tac and I popped it into my mouth. But on the nose, I would have swiped and then been totally mesmerised and intrigued by the little critter.

This was delightful! Of course I would have jumped…there is this unknown little alien attached to my nose, but how adorable is he/she. Fantastic photos Di and great post. I only hope he survives and the ‘other creepy crawlies’ where you live don’t have him for breakfast. xx

I’m not sure there is anything here that would eat him (maybe a cane toad, but the geckos tend to stick to the ceiling and walls where they can’t be reached). He started eating flies and mosquitoes straight away so he’s a hero in my book! 😀

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy…. you never cease to make me smile. And yeah — I’d be startled. Not sure if I’d jump — at 64 I move a little slower and a little less than I did at 20, but hey — who expects a gecko to emerge from a tick tac?

Love the Kama Sutra Gecko image….. which is what I do — someone says something and next thing you know I have a mental image of the comment. But, not sure what to do with Geckos in Reverse Cowgirl or Butterfly. Those tails keep getting in the way…..

Did he ever get around to thanking you for getting him out of that shell??? I wouldn’t be surprised if he does follow you around the house thinking your nose is his mom. Love the shadow photo–you could win some contest with that one!!

I’ve been laughing at the image of you there nearsighedtly squeezing and peering… Luckily it was just a gecko. I would have squealed like a girl! It’s my normal reaction to anything unexpected like that. I recover instantly but the damage, that I look like an idiot and I’ve frightened whatever it is off, is done.We had a green snake I was dying to have a look at but when it popped its head up next to me in the garden I squealed and I’ve never seen it again dammit. Baby gecko is a cutie and it appears right from the get go he has a gecko appetite for flies 🙂

You had every right to jump; if a tiny creature would have popped out of a tic tac onto my nose, I think I might have had a heart attack and fallen on my face!
But curious? How did jumping on the table save you from the little guy stuck on your nose????
LOL 😛
This was defiantly a story to make me smile, laugh, pee my pants!!!!!
Thanks for sharing, and I don’t think less of you for being startled by life out of a tic tac!
I just knew you were going to say a 1000 tiny spiders spilled forth from the white ball. That’s what we get here in Oklahoma.
Have a great day! And great pics!

No problem, at my age, it doesn’t take much! LOL
Okay, I got confused about who jumped on the table. I think its more funny with you being the jumper. LOL
I’ve made the mistake of squashing a spiders egg sack and having a hoard of babies come out at me; but you are right, that wouldn’t have been as funny!

I’d have jumped! As someone said, it’s the surprise factor. Along with the anoles and geckos here in Florida, we have black snakes always zipping around the place. I’m not afraid of them, but when they zip right by your feet, I shriek and jump!

Btw, thanks for the pictures and descriptions, but I must say that taking a road trip in monsoon storms with a dog who has diarrhea impresses me too. Oh, are you on Pinterest? Great place to share those photos. I have a Cool Critters board there…

wow …that is sort of beyond cool. Kind of like…letting life out. But that big dinosaur came out of a little tic tac sized egg?

I would have screamed and jumped and totally freaked out by the way lol. But like you, I think I would have found him…her…errr…it…and carried it outside *smiles* (I pick up earthworms when it rains and put them back in the grass so no one steps on them.)

That is sooooo cool! You’re a gecko midwife! He’s so cute, and what a tiny egg! For sure I would’ve jumped too – it’s just not what you eggspect, right! Have a great day and thanks for starting mine with a good laugh:-)

LOL – I certainly didn’t eggspect it, Harula! I love being a gecko midwife now – and a gecko mummy. That was the last thing I expected to pop out of that little tic tac! I’m so glad I started your day with a good laugh, my friend 😀

I would have definitely jumped. And screamed like a girl. Then done as you did. How brilliant! To see things like that happen. And to have today’s technology and photograph it as it does happen. Love this.

Sissy… lol.. when anything like that happens I defy anyone not to react like you did… I’m sure I would have been exactly the same… nice that the little guy survived, I’d have swotted him from my nose .. probably causing a nose bleed as well as a flat gecko.. I must admit I did have a good laugh at your intrepid experience…

I’ve made a mental note to never, ever, under any circumstances squeeze anything that looks remotely like a Tic Tac. {Shudder} If that had happened to me, I’m sure I would’ve ran, screamed, and swatted at my nose to get if off me (probably injuring the poor guy.) I like wildlife from a distance – not on my face.

So this make you a Gecko Midwife now? Just curious since you did so well with the hatching and after care 🙂

A new line for my CV – Gecko Midwife Extraordinaire (at your service). The little guy is doing remarkably well considering it was my first time 😀

Please – never squeeze a Tic Tac, you just don’t know what they’re harbouring. I did break an egg once that I thought was a chicken egg but it was a black snake and that wasn’t nearly as funny 😯 You’re right – wildlife from a distance is the way to go 😉

I didn’t get a picture of the egg so I had to look online for one and the only one I could find was a picture with two in it. I’m wishing now I had taken a picture of the egg, but I thought it was a tic tac and not photo worthy LOL 😀

That is hilarious! I would have jumped too – just because of the surprise factor! Glad you hatched a baby and not a runny yolk! Holy crud, how did he fit in that shell?!
So are you going to turn into the gecko lady now? Pictures of your little baby until you can’t tell him apart from his parents? Come on, you know you have a soft spot now. It’s ok, just be sure to ease your kids into the fact they have a new sibling who is a little “different”. Stuart Little Australian style.

LOL! I’m almost giggling too much to respond! I can just see me now down at the shops saying, ‘Isn’t my baby just gorgeous!’ and the other mothers cringing! Someone suggested I have a naming competition but I think I’ll just name him Tic Tac – that’s pretty unique and not far off some Hollywood names I’ve seen lately. 😀

Thanks for making me laugh so much with this! I didn’t think it could get any funnier than the gecko love. Whenever anything like that bursts out of a tic-tac looking thing, it’s a good reason to scream and jump and run from the house!

Looks like that Gecko Kama Sutra is great for fertility. You might want to release an illustrated version of that Gecko love pose for couples who are having trouble conceiving.
I would have loved to see a picture of you with the baby gecko on your nose. You must have been pretty cross-eyed. Thanks for the update from the wild outback. {{{hugs]}} Kozo

Oh my! I would have screamed for several minutes, I’m sure. I don’t like anything jumping on my face and surprising me (even ladybugs). Give me a second to know what they are before they invade the territory of my skin. (BTW, I finished the Everything Theory. I really liked it; it kept me on the edge of my seat. Would you care to do an interview some time in May on my blog?)

I think I would have screamed, “Get it off me! Get it off me!” But then again, there was a day in Mexico when another student asked me, “Is that a scorpion on your back?” It was. I stood paralyzed while one of the guys brushed it off with the paper he was holding.

I guess we never know what we’ll do until we’re faced with a baby gecko clinging to our noses. 🙂

Dianne,
This is amazing. I have kept many different species of frogs for some time (at our most, we had over 10 vivariums, and 20 some frogs), and only a handful of amplexus moments. Love that you’ve witnessed and captured these magnificent™ moments.
Le Clown

I’m not sure what’s in the water here, Le Clown, but I’ve witnessed the Kama Sutra dance several times now and it seems to be paying off for these creatures. We also have frogs around the farm and my favourite is the rarer white-lipped green tree frog that seem to find my bathroom (and toilet bowl) quite appealing 😉

Feel free to geek out 😉 I’m pretty sure dendrobates are poisonous (and colourful) and that’s pretty cool. The only poisonous thing we have here is the ugly old cane toad which was introduced into Australia (not five miles from where I’m now sitting) about 80 years ago and they almost decimated our frog population. The cane toad is not only a cannibal but it eats everything else as well (including frog tadpoles) and it doesn’t have a natural enemy here (apart from the occasional brave kookaburra). So it’s great to see frogs at my place because I know they’re true survivors 😀

Oh wow, Dianne, you get all the strange incidents! I would’ve probably fainted if that gecko had pounced on me. There’s something about insects and lizards touching me that makes my skin absolutely crawl, haha.

I don’t like spiders crawling on me 😯 that’s a bit much, but I guess living in the tropics it’s something you kind of have to get used to 😀 I can just imagine you fainting and the little fella slapping you on the cheek trying to wake you up – LOL 😉

What an adorable story 🙂 I love Geckos, a few of them used to live with me in Lismore, they are so cute a clingy.

Isn’t it amazing how used to the creatures you get in Australia! Can’t believe I lived happily among all the spiders, snakes, lizards, ticks and giant insects over there. 8 years in Dublin have definitely made me soft!

I got used to living without the creatures when I was down south in the ACT for 12 years and now I’m back in the thick of it again, Rohan 😀 Sometimes I forget and doing something like walking outside at night without a torch to check for snakes is something I have to get back into the swing of! I think I went soft as well 😉

The only times I see gecko’s, well at least I think they are, is in India when I am there. In the UK, other than online (pictures) I don’t see any such creatures in real life. The first time I saw one of these in India, I was like “what the hell is that…” but over time they are silly and good to watch – like a mini-animal survival documentary on TV.

This is a fascinating story and turn of events, can you not hand rear them like they do with parrots?

Awww – that’s very sweet of you, Marylin! I’m glad the house fly landed where it did because that made for a great shot of the size. If I ever see eggs again I’ll get some pics of them opening ‘naturally’ 😀

When we went to Mexico on our honeymoon, a man greeted us as soon as we emerged from the cruise ship and for $20 offered take a gecko (I think) that he had folded in his pocket and put it on your head or shoulder and take picture. Bravely, I let him put one on my head, both shoulders and in both hands. Had he thrown them on me or had one jumped on me I would have been on the next plane home – forget the honeymoon cruise! As it was, I could tell they were harmless because he had them riding around all day in his pants pockets. No man would do that if they bit! Today, on the other hand a buzzing insect, of some sort flew between my hair and my iPhone as I talked. I screamed into the iPhone, and in my haste to get rid of the bug, removed a handfull of hair (which I dearly need!)

You, on the other hand were very brave to pinch little white balls! I think a measly scream classifies you for a Badge of Courage. Had the balls been red, you could have been awarded the Red Badge of Courage. As it is, the badge will have to remain white. I loved the perspective of the fly and the gecko.

What a pleasure to be back in your wonderful world, Dianne!! It makes coming home after such an amazing trip all the more lovely. I’ve been wondering about your life and your house, while I have been away – I suppose as I encountered each new adventure on the road, I would think of other people I knew on their own exciting rides. I can’t believe the thing hatched in your hand, and then ended up on your nose!! Lucky it didn’t decide to go up it…
Thanks for putting a smile on my face xx

LOL! I was fun after I knew I wasn’t going to be eaten alive! 😉 He’s actually been back a few times and sits on the outside table next to me while I read blogs (I think he really does think I’m his mother!) 😀

Thanks for following my blog Diane! I live in Vietnam. As I’m sitting here I can count 4 different geckos on the ceiling, and if I went out on the front porch I imagine there would be at least a dozen lurking around on the wall above the front door!

I love them, they’re almost on top of the food chain around here if you exclude the cats, and the occasionally MASSIVE huntsman spiders big enough to take a gecko.

Just the other day there was a fly giving me a hard time in the kitchen, my hands were full as he landed on the wall next to me. I kept my eyes on him as I set down the pan and spatula to reach for my fly killing towel when out from behind the counter against the wall a mid-sized gecko darts out and snatches that sucker right up before casually returning to his hiding spot. I didn’t know a lizard would ever make me so happy.